$15 Million For One Lucky Park

Rendering of the Waterloo Park makeover project, courtesy of the Waller Creek Conservancy

One lucky park in Austin is about to get a major makeover… a $15 million makeover.

Last week, the Moody Foundation announced that it is awarding a $15 million grant to fund improvements at Waterloo Park on East 12th Street in downtown Austin. The grant is the largest single donation to parks and open space in Austin’s history.

Planned improvements include the construction of an amphitheater and great lawn (that will fit up to 5,000 people), as well as a mile and half of trails, gardens, and play spaces. Waterloo park has largely been closed to the public for the past few years, as construction crews have worked on an intake building for the Waller Creek Tunnel, a major project aimed at reducing flooding in downtown Austin.

The makeover of Waterloo Park is just one component of the larger Waller Creek Park project, which when complete, will include more than 37 acres of connected urban parks in downtown Austin, allowing people to walk all the way from UT’s campus to Lady Bird Lake.